Hi! I have an emu chick, Mundy, that's about two and a half weeks old. I'd tried for nearly two years to hatch emu eggs, and this is my second chick. The first, Peep, injured his neck at two weeks old and was too far in shock for the vet to do anything, so we had to put him down. Naturally, I'm extremely attached to (and protective of) Mundy.
He's kept in my living room, which is restricted from the rest of my home by a linoleum-floored kitchen.
One of my cats knocked over the makeshift "fence" I made to keep him confined to the living room, and he was eager to explore the house, but he had to cross the kitchen to do so. Despite my dog's best efforts to herd him back into the living room, by the time I realized he'd escaped (about five minutes), he'd must have slipped on the linoleum floor about four or five times. This was three days ago.
I've read all about preventing/treating complications in emus in preparation for raising them, so when I saw him slip my heart just about jumped in my throat. I know how bad slipping can injure an emu chick, and I'm constantly keeping an eye on him (and I have an actual baby gate now to make sure he doesn't get into the kitchen again.)
I'm terrified he might have a slipped tendon or rotated leg or something, but the thing is that he doesn't act like it all. There's no swelling anywhere in either leg, no limping, and neither leg is turning outward at any weird angles. He's walking and zooming around just fine and acting completely normal. I'm even getting little dances out of him when he's let out to frolic early in the morning and late in the evening. Both legs work just fine, and he's displayed his balance proudly by doing his little rolls and standing on each foot while scratching the side of his head with the other.
Does anyone know how long it takes for a slipped tendon to show symptoms? Did I just get REALLY lucky with him?
He's kept in my living room, which is restricted from the rest of my home by a linoleum-floored kitchen.
One of my cats knocked over the makeshift "fence" I made to keep him confined to the living room, and he was eager to explore the house, but he had to cross the kitchen to do so. Despite my dog's best efforts to herd him back into the living room, by the time I realized he'd escaped (about five minutes), he'd must have slipped on the linoleum floor about four or five times. This was three days ago.
I've read all about preventing/treating complications in emus in preparation for raising them, so when I saw him slip my heart just about jumped in my throat. I know how bad slipping can injure an emu chick, and I'm constantly keeping an eye on him (and I have an actual baby gate now to make sure he doesn't get into the kitchen again.)
I'm terrified he might have a slipped tendon or rotated leg or something, but the thing is that he doesn't act like it all. There's no swelling anywhere in either leg, no limping, and neither leg is turning outward at any weird angles. He's walking and zooming around just fine and acting completely normal. I'm even getting little dances out of him when he's let out to frolic early in the morning and late in the evening. Both legs work just fine, and he's displayed his balance proudly by doing his little rolls and standing on each foot while scratching the side of his head with the other.
Does anyone know how long it takes for a slipped tendon to show symptoms? Did I just get REALLY lucky with him?
